1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus, a system, a method, a medium and a program for user support such as inventory management, order management etc. of an expendable to be used in an electronic equipment such as an office equipment connected to a network.
2. Related Background Art
In the office automation equipment such as the printer or the copying apparatus, there has been executed to detect the consumption of an expendable such as recording paper or toner by a predetermined amount at the equipment and to automatically place an order through a network or the like.
However, in case plural equipment are used for example in an office, the expendables corresponding to such equipment may be of different types. On the contrary, there is also assumed a case where the plural equipment may require different repairing works but use expendables of a same type. In such cases, the management is in fact required for each expendable used in each equipment.
Also the equipment of plural types can be generally classified into two types, namely those of device type, such as a printer, connected to a personal computer (PC), and those of PC/server type such as a personal computer (PC). However the equipment of these two types have respective specific error information, option information etc. and such information is difficult to manage in unified manner and have been managed individually.
On the other hand, the works relating to the expendable such as delivery, financing, recovery of expendable are not linked and have been executed inefficiently.
Particularly in case an expendable is ordered and the delivery of a new expendable to the customer is instructed but such delivery is not executed soon, it has not been possible to achieve prompt response.
In consideration of the foregoing, the object of the present invention is to enable, in case the electronic equipment of plural types are used for example in an office, the inventory management and order for each type of expendable corresponding to each electronic equipment.